JOTTINGS
• Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman broke down what newly signed wide receiver Kendall Wright brings: "Very good slot, has some quickness underneath. You know when we lost Jarius [Wright] then we wanted to make sure we had another slot guy and he was available out there. I know he had a couple other opportunities out there, but we were able to get him on a visit here."
• Rest assured the Wilfs will do everything they can to sign the Vikings' standout players set to hit free agency next year in linebacker Anthony Barr, receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive end Danielle Hunter.
• It's interesting that the Vikings will face Case Keenum in Denver in their first preseason game.
• Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle on the immediate impact of hiring Lindsay Whalen as women's basketball coach: "Our season-ticket sales were up 600 percent in women's basketball the first 12 hours that we announced the hiring."
• Ken Mauer, the St. Paul native in his 32nd season as an NBA referee, worked his 200th playoff game last Sunday when the Timberwolves played at Houston. Mauer is second among active officials in postseason experience.
• The Gophers football team will not raise prices on any tickets for the 2018 season and have introduced a new season-ticket zone that is priced at $249, the cheapest in the stadium. They also lowered the price of their Outdoor Club season tickets, a premier location, by $300.
• Minnehaha Academy's Jalen Suggs is widely considered to be a top-five basketball recruit in the country. Suggs father, Larry, played for Woodbury before also playing in junior college. Meanwhile, Rochester John Marshall's Matthew Hurt is playing AAU with D1 Minnesota, and the team won their first tournament of the year. Hurt said that while his brother Michael wants him to join him on the Gophers, he isn't forcing that decision.
